Case Study
Roudebush VA Medical Center’s Veterans House
Project Overview
Location
Indianapolis, Indiana
Building
Roudebush VA Medical Center's Veterans House
Aeroseal Contractors
Reupert Heating & Air
Contract Engineer
RL Turner Corporation; Indiana
Goal
Meet ERV specifications
Before Aeroseal
900+ CFM* of total leakage
After Aeroseal
63 CFM of total leakage
Results
Reduced average leakage by 93%
Type: Healthcare
VA Hospital Meets Codes With Aeroseal Duct Sealing
ERV system leaks made it impossible to balance and adjust airflow
Just months after opening the doors to its new Veterans House, the VA medical center of Indianapolis, Indiana discovered that the building’s Energy Recovery Ventilation (ERV) system wasn’t working properly. The diagnosis: intake and exhaust ductwork running throughout the building and through the ERV were full of leaks, making it impossible to balance and adjust airflow. Strict government standards require a leakage rate of 10% or less. Pretesting showed a leakage rate that exceeded 45% in some areas. Faced with this reality, VA administrators were contemplating a massive setback – the prospect of having to empty out the facility, close its doors and begin tearing down walls and ceilings in order to access the ductwork and manually seal the leaks. Lucky for all involved, the project’s construction company did a little Internet research and came across an alternative solution…Aeroseal.
I did my research and found that short of tearing down and starting over, there was only one option – Aeroseal. For retrofits and new construction projects like this, it is the ideal solution. The technology prevented a much more expensive and invasive procedure.
David Petty
RL Turner Corporation
Results
It took Reupert Heating & Air just three days to seal the building’s ductwork – the alternative option would have taken a year or more to complete and hundreds of thousands of dollars more in added demolition and construction costs to accomplish. Aeroseal works from the inside of the duct system to locate and seal leaks, so finding and sealing all of the various holes and gaps throughout the entire duct system could be accomplished without disturbing any of the newly finished construction. The Aeroseal technology is safe and highly effective. The work was done over Memorial Day weekend and the building was open for veterans and their families the following day.
Aeroseal was first brought in to seal the exhaust ducts that ran from the bathroom grilles to the ERV. After VA administrators saw how effective and unobtrusive the sealing process was, the scope of the sealing project was expanded to include all four airflow systems.
